Pumpkin Spice Latte, the Drink That Almost Wasn’t

ByTom Gara

Ten years ago, when Starbucks’ espresso wizards were brewing up new seasonal drink ideas for fall, they came up with a list of 20 finalists and market tested them. The pumpkin concept was initially greeted with a “meh,” falling somewhere in the middle of the pack, outshined by stars such as chocolate caramel or cinnamon spice.

But Starbucks’ product developers saw potential.

“It wasn’t the natural winner, but there was something there,” said Peter Dukes, espresso brand manager for Starbucks, who was on the original team that developed the drink.

Now it is the coffee giant’s most popular seasonal drink and has developed a following similar to McDonalds’ McRib or other seasonal products with limited availability. The Journal last year documented fans’ devotion to the drink - and their disappointment when the stores run out of the pumpkin spice sauce:

“My world almost ended this morning when the local Starbucks told me they were out of Pumpkin Spice Latte,” tweeted Jason Sizemore, 38 years old, of Lexington, Ky.

Cynthia Smalls, a barista at a midtown Manhattan Starbucks, said steamed customers have grown emotional on days her location runs out of pumpkin sauce. “They go crazy. The day we first found out we had a shortage, forget it,” she said. Her own surprised reaction: “You guys do know it’s just a drink, right?” she said.

JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

To get the taste right, Starbucks developers a decade ago decked out their R&D lab with a ton of Thanksgiving flair, even though it was only spring. There were sweaters, Thanksgiving decorations, and, of course, a bunch of pumpkin pies – made from a variety of family recipes, and some store-bought. They nibbled and taste-tested their way through the pies, swigging the pumpkin filling down with espresso. They even poured espresso directly onto the pie, Mr. Dukes said.

Mr. Dukes isn’t surprised by its continued success. The drink was a hit off the bat. “We knew within the first week we had a winner,” he said. At the time, there were 7,225 Starbucks stores. Now there’s nearly 19,000.

Thanks to some marketing magic, the drink gained even more buzz. The company created a contest to see which city would be the first in the country to get the Pumpkin Spice Latte. This year, they have added a gaming element to the drink’s arrival, allowing customers to “unlock” their local stores by ordering the drink with a code before the official Tuesday (Sept. 3) launch.

The #PSL tweets started a few months ago, and there’s now dozens of new mentions every few minutes.

I’ve never been happier about burning my tongue with a hot beverage. #PSL

The pumpkin-spice sauce (note, not syrup, like most Starbucks drinks) made with cinnamon, clove and nutmeg spices, combines with steamed milk, espresso, whipped cream and a pumpkin-spice topping. But no actual pumpkin in the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

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